


Couple Skate

by KagayaDaydreams



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Humor, M/M, MFE pilots, Romance, roller skating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-12 16:58:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16876680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KagayaDaydreams/pseuds/KagayaDaydreams
Summary: "There’s a group of four skating around like a conga line on wheels. Some people are by themselves, just going with the flow, getting their money’s worth. In James’ opinion, the arcade is infinitely more interesting.That is, until a handsome stranger passes his line of sight.It’s quick, doesn’t even last two whole seconds, but his face is burned in James’ retinas. There on the rink, is a man that weaves around people with such ease, James finds himself holding his breath. And he’s not just skating in a single direction, no that would be too easy. He skates backwards, gracefully, smoothly, in time with the music. "James Griffin can’t skate to save his life, but he’s determined to skate with the cute stranger on the rink if it kills him.





	Couple Skate

**Author's Note:**

> And thus, my love for rare pairs rears its head once more! I'm still not sure what the ship name is for Griffin and Kinkade, but I've been using "griffkink" since it's easier to search for the tag.

There are so many reasons why James Griffin doesn’t want to be at the skating rink right now.

First off, the LED lights give him a headache. They cycle through every color of the rainbow incessantly, roving across the rink in a dizzying way. How anyone manages to stay on two feet with that monstrosity is beyond him.

Secondly, the only reason why he’s here is because of his grudge-holding, blackmailing, persistent best friend Nadia Rizavi. For the past couple months he’d successfully declined her invitations, citing homework as his main issue. But now that it’s summer he doesn’t have that safety net anymore. Well, _that_ and Nadia somehow managed to get all his passwords to his social media accounts and threatened to “add some spice to his feed” if he didn’t come.

Lastly, and this is what he tried to _stress_ before being dragged here:

_He can’t skate._

At least, not anymore. Prior to hitting puberty, James had a pretty good grasp on how his limbs behaved. They moved the way he did, and his sense of balance was impeccable. Friends would have birthday parties at skating rinks. In a groups of five or more, they’d hold impromptu races around the wooden oval, elbowing the other in harmless fun. There was no fear of falling or skinned knees, just kids behaving wildly.

Growth spurts coupled with an increasing list of more important responsibilities ended that childhood pastime. His lanky limbs (among other things) ensured that he’d never be able to move the way he could when he was younger. Not that it mattered. James had other priorities that didn’t center around skating. His summer internship, for example, would affect his future for the better. It’d build his networking skills, further his career path, and it’ll look great _\--_

“Hey, Griffin. Where are your skates?” A very annoyed finger jabs him in the back of his shoulder.

James isn’t moving from his booth. Unlike Nadia and her girlfriend Veronica, who went to claim their skates after buying their tickets, James made a beeline for the food bar, got a soda and large curly fries, and sat down to eat it. Ina Leifsdottir, a friend of Veronica, joined him soon after with a soft pretzel and a bright green slushie.

“You said that I had to _show up_. Not skate,” James clarifies with a mouth full of food.

Nadia wrinkles her nose at the display, “Gross.” she skates a little closer to the booth, “What kind of dumbass comes to a skating rink for _food?_ No one. No one does that, and neither should you. We’re here to have fun tonight.”

James gestures to Ina who looks on in mild surprise, “Leifsdottir did the exact same thing, why aren’t you getting onto her?”

“I’m here for the arcade,” Ina replies for herself. She takes a long sip of her drink and fishes out a purple plastic card with a little mascot on it, “Fifteen bucks gets you two hours of unlimited game swipes.”

“She’s here for the arcade,” Nadia echoes, “What’s _your_ excuse?”

“I told you. I. Can’t. Skate.”

Veronica wheels over to the trio and hugs Nadia from behind, she gives her a quick peck on the cheek in greeting, then settles her chin on Nadia’s shoulder, “Is Griffin being stubborn?”

James didn’t notice it before, since he was caught up in being pissy, but Veronica and Nadia look _way_ nicer than usual. They’re not quite matching, but the outfits definitely have some kind of theme to it. It’s a strong contrast to the “fashionably comfortable” style that he’s grown accustomed to seeing them in.

He raises an eyebrow, “Why are you two all dressed up?”

Nadia’s eyes sparkle. She sweeps an arm over head like she’s tossing confetti, Veronica dips her as Nadia wiggles her fingers dramatically, “For the couple skate! At the end of the night, there’s a contest for the cutest couple, and tonight it’s gonna be _us._ ”

Veronica rights her girlfriend and they lock fingers together, “It’s every Saturday and we usually don’t care, but this month they’re giving away two tickets to the amusement park!”

“Well, good luck to the both of you,” James turns back in his seat, “I’ll cheer you on from over here.”

Nadia sighs and goes for a softer tone, “It’s been so long since we’ve hung out together. All junior year you stressed out about senior year, and now you’re stressing about graduation. There are more things in life than just college. You need to decompress before you combust, Griffin. Seriously.”

James frowns. It’s true that it’s been a while since he’s been able to just relax. It’s been even longer since he’s been anywhere fun. Ever since freshman year, graduating in four years with a job has been his top priority. Unfortunately, James had to sacrifice a huge chunk of his social life in order to accommodate that goal. Nadia may come across as carefree, but James knows that she’s just as driven, maybe even more. He always admired her ability to balance school with everything else. It’s a big reason why they became friends in the first place.

Be that as it may, the last thing James wants to do is end up on that skating rink, but he also knows that Nadia’s not gonna leave him alone with his thoughts.

“Fine.” he relents, “I’ll be in the arcade with Leifsdottir. Happy?”

Nadia swipes a fry from James’ tray and gives a thumbs up, “ _Ecstatic._ The couple skate starts at 10:45, don’t be late. ”

.

The arcade is pretty large, and it’s very overwhelming to try and take everything in at once. There are games lined from wall-to-wall of different shapes and sizes. Ina, a seasoned veteran, makes a beeline for her favorite games, but waits for James to catch up to her before starting. Ina doesn’t talk much other than to give quick tutorials. They start with two-person shooting games, then a two-person racing games, and then make their way through a bunch of rhythm games.

Most of the rhythm games are in Japanese. Ina either understands the language, or has played enough times to competently navigate the song list. James is completely caught up in her pace, though there’s nothing bad about that. It isn’t until Ina moves to the rhythm games that require actual _dancing,_ that James tries to politely decline.

“I’m not a dancer, Leifsdottir. Sorry.”

“Oh.” Ina replies in her usual monotone way. However, the way her shoulders slightly sag gives away that she’s a little disappointed. She looks at another machine and walks in that direction.

“Wait!” James looks between her and the game, “You can still play. Don’t let me ruin it for you.”

“No. I’m having fun playing multiplayer,” she turns away again, “So on to the next.”

“Wait...” James repeats. He stiffly goes to the playing area, “One game. On the lowest difficulty possible, please.”

Ina’s expression doesn’t change, but there’s an excited glimmer in her eye. She joins him and immediately sets it to the highest difficulty setting. James can only stare in muted horror as she locks it in.

“For these types of games…” Ina explains, “You have to go big or go home.”

One round turned into several, because James grew increasingly annoyed that he kept ‘failing’ the song before he could complete it. Some of the combos were impossible for a human being. He continued to reiterate that fact each time a red _F_ appeared on the screen before fading to a black screen. Nonetheless, he didn’t want to leave until he got a passing _D_. If James is gonna play this buggy rhythm game on expert mode, he’s gonna play to win. His initial reservations about dancing were replaced with a strong determination.

Ina on the other hand breezed through songs with flying colors, consistently receiving ranks from _S_ to _SSS_ . She’s a little winded, but enjoying herself immensely. After two more songs, James gets a _C_ ranking. Ina gives him a high-five for his accomplishment.

James looks at his score and then starts laughing, “I’ve never been so happy to get a C in my life,” he takes a picture of it before the game goes back to the home screen. Ina says something quiet that James doesn’t catch.

“What was that?”

“You laughed.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s the first time you’ve laughed all night. That’s good.”

James is surprised by the simple revelation. He does feel lighter. Tired, but happy. He didn’t realize that he was carrying so much tension in his body until it wasn’t there anymore. Adrenaline will do that to you.

“You’re surprisingly good at cheering people up,” James says warmly, “I never would have guessed.”

Ina’s eyebrows furrow a little, “You should choose your words more carefully. Someone could take that the wrong way.”

“Sorry, um… ” James rubs the back of his neck, “Thank you, is what I meant to say. I really needed to unwind.”

Ina nods, “Nadia thought so too.”

“Yeah, I’ll probably have to grovel later.” James checks the time, “We should head back to the skating area soon. Their event starts in fifteen minutes. I’m gonna grab a soda and cool off. You want anything?”

Ina shakes her head and looks over at the claw machine, “I have one more thing to do.”

James looks at it in mild disgust, “Ugh, those things are rigged. And you have to pay actual money to play, you shouldn’t waste your time, Leifsdottir.”

“I need consolation prizes,” Ina replies, then leaves him without further explanation.

.

When James returns to the skating side, there aren’t a lot of people left, most likely because it’s nearly 11 o’clock at night. It’s easy to spot those who are definitely gonna be in the couple contest. They stand out among other people. However, Nadia and Veronica are nowhere to be found. Which means that they’re somewhere on the skating rink. Armed with his slushie, James makes his way to the short wall that separates the rink from the carpet. The arcade was incredibly bright, so it’s a bit difficult to see in the lowlight, but he hopes that they pass under those multi-colored spotlights so he can see properly.

James is somewhat envious of how easily people can glide across the floor, not caring whether they fall on their butt or not. There’s a group of four skating around like a conga line on wheels. Some people are by themselves, just going with the flow, getting their money’s worth. In James’ opinion, the arcade is infinitely more interesting.

That is, until a handsome stranger passes his line of sight.

It’s quick, doesn’t even last two whole seconds, but his face is burned in James’ retinas. There on the rink, is a man that weaves around people with such ease, James finds himself holding his breath. And he’s not just skating in a single direction, no that would be too _easy._ He skates backwards, gracefully, smoothly, in time with the music.

The person comes back around and James gets a better look.

His hair is short and curly, with two dreads that coil loosely along his forehead. James bets his jawline could cut diamonds, it’s so sharp. Every time he skates into one of the spotlights, shadows and the LED light curve along his cheekbone, and James wishes it were his own fingers. Unlike other skaters who alternate their legs like they’re trudging through deep snow, this guy crosses his, one over the other, kind of like a figure skater. He didn’t think skating could be so beautiful. So fascinating. So _attractive._

James sips idly at his slushie, trying to keep his jaw from falling open. He really shouldn’t be staring this much. If anything, since he’s here so late, he’s probably staying for the couple skate. Which means there’s a high probability he’s _taken_ and James shouldn’t be ogling so shamelessly.

“Griffin!” Nadia calls, she and Veronica skate to either side of him, they lean against the rink barrier, “Having fun?”

James shrugs, “A lot more fun than I thought I would, actually.”

Veronica nudges him, “It looked like you were having fun watching the _rink_ too--”

James tenses. Is it that obvious that he was staring at somebody? If they noticed it from afar, then the guy might have too. James can feel his face heat up. _How embarrassing._

Veronica continues, “If you felt left out, all you had to do was ask.”

“Oh.” James says without thinking. He jumped to conclusions.

Nadia gasps, “You wanted to skate this entire time, but were too stubborn to admit it.”

“That’s not true. I had a great time at the arcade with Leifsdottir.” James counters.

Then again, James wouldn’t mind braving the rink if he had a chance to be a little closer to that handsome guy. His pride be damned. But if he admitted that to Nadia and Veronica (who _love_ to play matchmaker), they’ll definitely stick their noses where it doesn’t belong, and that’s the last thing he wants. So James tries to play it casually.

“That guy in beige shirt… do you think he’s here for the couple skate?”

“The one with all his buttons unbuttoned?” Nadia leans closer as she tries to get a better look.

“Yeah.”

James can almost _hear_ the smirk creep up her face, “Why? You think he’s _cute?_ ”

_God. Dammit._

Veronica zeroes in on him, whistling as she watches him pass by, “I don’t blame you. Tall, dark, _and_ handsome.”

“I didn’t say that,” James sputters, but he knows it’s a losing game, “It’s because he has a lot of technical skill. I just thought it’d be strange if he planned on participating in the event with a skating level like that.”

Nadia scoffs, “Those were a lot of words for ‘ _I think he’s hot_ ’, Griffin.” She whispers to him, but it’s anything but quiet, “Want me to ask if he’s single? I’ll do it.”

“ _Rizavi. DO NOT._ ” James whispers back, at the same volume as Nadia.

Veronica interjects, “Well, the event starts soon. Just wait until then. Actually, we should start lining up Nadia.”

The two give James one last knowing look before skating to the other entrance.

James holds his breath when the music changes into something slower, more romantic. The wild spotlights converge into pink overlapping pairs shaped in hearts. Non-couple skaters take that as their cue to leave, and they crowd around the opening near James, blocking his view. He grips is cup a little tighter. James is so focused on trying to look past the crowd that he doesn’t notice the stranger in question skate beside him, waiting to get out. When he _does_ notice, they lock eyes briefly. His eyes are brown, but they simmer like molten gold.

A good mouthful of James’ slushie spills down his chin and onto his shirt, all in plain sight of the stranger. The stranger’s eyebrow’s shoot up in surprise, then he turns to stifle a laugh.

James immediately books it to the bathroom.

In time it takes for James to clean himself up, collect the shards of his fractured dignity, and try not to scream into the sink, he misses the skating portion of the contest. He comes out just as the winners are announced. James spots Ina sitting at a table, with stuffed animals in tow. He sighs and sits across from her. She offers him a teddy bear, he hesitates to take it.

“I saw what happened,” she says simply, “But I couldn’t follow you into the bathroom. So I got you something from the claw machine.”

“Thanks.” James lamely takes it, looking down at the velvet thing. It’s a tiny brown bear with no mouth, but a cute black nose. The eyes aren’t black and beady but a wonderful… molten gold color. James looks at Ina and then back at the bear.

_She couldn’t have possibly…_

He shakes the thought out of his head. That would be too much of a weird coincidence, even for her.

“Who won?”

“An _elderly couple_ ,” Nadia mutters, skating up to the table with Veronica. She pinches the bridge of her nose, “They had matching sweaters.”

Veronica sighs, “You can’t compete with that.”

“You can’t!” Nadia groans, “They were tottering around the rink, with their wrinkly happy smiles. _I_ was about to tear up!”

Veronica hums, “If _we_ wore matching outfits next week…”

Nadia puts her hands on Veronica’s shoulders, eyes sparkling, “Babe, say no more. You’re a genius and I was thinking the exact _same_ thing. We’re going shopping tomorrow.”

Ina holds out the plushes she won in the arcade, “Consolation prizes. You tried your best.”

Veronica and Nadia make excited sounds and pull Ina in for a group hug, complimenting her. James chuckles at their display of affection, but then turns his attention elsewhere. The guy is nowhere to be found. On the bright side, now James knows that he’s single. Unfortunately, a charming first impression is nearly impossible after what happened.

Nadia waves her arm in James face, “Griffin, get in here. You’re missing the love fest.”

James doesn’t know where to put his arms in the huddle, but Nadia's quick to squish him in. They probably look ridiculous from an outsider’s perspective. The group disassembles and head to the skate rental counter.

“We’ll get those tickets next weekend!” Nadia promises.

“I can’t wait to match with you,” Veronica squeezes their linked hands, “You look good in every color. Especially blue.”

James stops in his tracks, “You’re coming back?”

Nadia stoops down to take off her skates, “Hell yeah, I want those amusement park tickets. Aren’t you? You’ll see the hot guy again.”

James flushes, “You--you don’t even know if he’ll be here next time.”

She shrugs, “Only one way to find out.”

“Griffin might be embarrassed.” Ina points to the faded green stain on his shirt, “He spilled his drink when he looked at him, then ran to the bathroom.”

“ _Leifsdottir!_ ”

Ina blinks, “Am I mistaken?”

Nadia and Veronica collapse on the floor with laughter.

“I wondered why I didn’t see you. I wasn’t--” Veronica snorts, and smacks her hand on the carpet, “I wasn’t gonna bring up the stain, but now…”

Nadia wheezes, “ _Holy shit,_ that’s hilarious. You weren’t on the rink, but you still took a _spill_ , huh?”

James eye twitches.

Veronica grabs her ribs, “Nadia don’t be mean. It was the quickest way to _cool down_ , since he was feeling so hot and bothered _._ ”

“Oh my god, Griffin--” Nadia wipes tears from her eyes, “Griffin you’re-- you’re the best. Really, I mean that from the bottom of my heart.”

“That’s funny.” Griffin says evenly. “I think you’re the _worst._ I’m leaving.”

“Good thing we rode in the same car together!” Nadia calls after him. “Same time next week?”

James flips her off.

“I’ll take that as an enthusiastic yes!”


End file.
